Anyone else have trouble with alignment/steering after a level install? Added the 2.5" autospring and 285/75/17 about a month ago and have ~1200 miles on the setup. I had the truck re-aligned to spec, and tires took very little weight to balance, but I still get pretty decent drift in both directions with hands on the wheel.

To be honest, I have not gotten under this truck much at all, so I am not familiar with the full steering setup, but on my 94 silverado with a 12" and 38s I could take my hands off the wheel at 80mph and it would go dead straight. On this truck, if I take my hands on the wheel at freeway speed I will drift over the lane line in 3-4 seconds. Seems to be both directions, almost like there is slop on the steering wheel "center", sometimes to pulls left sometimes right.

Anyone else experience anything similar, especially after alignment? 2015 f150 Screw 4x4 2.5" AS Level, 285/75/17 Toyo AT2, stock wheels, 34k miles w/ ~1200 on the level/tires.

 

I'm not sure about the characteristics of the F150, but in the Tacoma scene the drift is solved by new
UCA's. They help with alignment as well as providing more travel when paired with appropriate coilovers. Also, just because your alignment is "in spec" doesn't mean it's good.

 

Sorry, duplicate post

 

This.

Sounds like caster is the culprit here. Dealt with the same issue on my 4runner after the lift, then got some SPC upper control arms that add positive caster. Problem solved.

I'd ask the alignment shop to adjust your caster to the most positive angle within in spec. Usually, the range is +/- 1 degree. That can actually make a pretty big difference in feel. I have a feeling yours is within spec, just at the lower end of the spec. Do you have a printout of the alignment?

 

I have the printout in the truck, so I'll have to run out and take a look at it and see where in the range I fell. Does anyone know the stock spec range offhand?

 

I had to take mine back for a second alignment even though it was in spec.

 

Had not actually checked the sheet as someone else picked the truck up, but here it is. Thoughts?

 

Hmmm interesting. You can get another degree of positive caster out of it and that will help. I don't have experience with the toyo at 2 tires, but the tread pattern, especially with some nice soft rubber, can give you a wandering feeling on cement freeways. Just a guess though...

 

Both sides? Whats the factory spec max?

This is my first set of AT2s, I've had nitto TGs, Toyo MTs in 38s and 40s, and BFG MTs and ATs in 33s - all could go straight as an arrow at 75-80mph on the freeway when alignment was in check.

What is interesting is the variance between pulling left and pulling right, it seems to "lock in" to one direction for awhile and then switch. It doesn't catch and pull all different directions (even over VERY bad bay area roads), but stays one way and then the other. For example, I drove home 40 miles yesterday and the whole drive it was as if the steering wheel wanted to sit maybe 10-15 degree right of center and the truck wanted to drift right. Today driving to work 20 miles, did the same thing but pulled left the whole time. Almost like there is a weird over-center slop in the middle 10-20 degrees of the wheel.

Drove my buddies 15' grand cherokee on Friday and if I put the steering wheel straight, it wanted to stay straight. Mine seems to want to sit slightly off center, but which side it is varies every time I drive (but does not change during the drive). It's pretty weird.

 

I'm not exactly sure what the specs are, but based on your alignment sheet the range is from 2.6-4.6 degrees of positive caster. You're at 3.4 and 3.7. technically, you could increase that but there could be mechanical limitations now that you have a leveling kit installed. That's why a lot of people get aftermarket UCAs or even cam kits to help rectify the mechanical limitations of stock UCAs when aligning.

That being said, it definitely sounds like a caster issue. I'd recommend getting the SPC kit (SPC 86250) to give you more adjustability, and find a good alignment shop that works on lifted/modified vehicles on the regular. Alignment can be an art, and artists usually don't work at Sears or Pep Boys (with exceptions of course).

For reference, some of the older Mercedes were rocking a positive 10 degree caster! Absolutely no wandering in those bad boys...